Forty years of doctoral public relations research in Spain:
A quantitative study of dissertations and their
contribution to theory development
Jordi Xifraa*, Antonio Castillob**
ª Faculty of Tourism and Communication, University of
Gerona, Spain
b Faculty of Information Sciences, University of Malaga,
Spain.
* Tel.: + 34 972 41 89 04; Fax: + 34 972 41 87 32; e-mail: [email protected]** Tel.: + 34 666 90 48 18; Fax: + 34 952 27 87 61; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In this article, doctoral dissertations on public relations
written at Spanish universities (1965-2004) are examined in
order to gain an understanding of the level of theory
development within the discipline. The following subjects
are studied: growth over time, universities where they were
written, use of language, gender and the topics of doctoral
dissertations. Although still in its early development,
public relations doctoral research in Spain is a well-
established and burgeoning field in terms of the total of
theses examined (62). The conclusion, however, is that
their contribution to theory building in public relations
has been negligible, with the practical or operational side
of public relations standing out more than the conceptual
and theoretical side.
Keywords: Public relations; university; Spain; doctoral
dissertations; quantitative research; theory building.
1. Public relations research in Spain: background and
regulation
For the almost four decades of Franco’s rule (1939-1975),
studies and research into communication in Spain were
characterized by a clear lack of theory, explicit
ideological and political censorship and the primacy of the
state “machine” (Jones, 1997). In actual fact, these
characteristics could be applied to any discipline, but, as
can be readily imagined, the same control that was
exercised over the communications industry (press, radio,
cinema and television, in particular) was also applied to
the incipient theoretical study of this social phenomenon,
due mainly to the regime’s need to perpetuate itself in the
doctrinal and ideological field.
Because of this censorship and primacy, with the exception
of some cases in the field, Spanish research while Franco
was in power, specifically into advertising and public
relations, was characterized by a lack of scientific and
academic rigor and “reduced to simple publications of
conferences, seminars or speeches of a doctrinal nature”
(Jones, 1997, p. 104).
Public relations research in Spain has on the whole been
carried out in the academic sphere, which was only possible
once the discipline was classed as a university subject. In
1971, an executive order of the government came into force
allowing universities to request the formation of their own
Information Science Faculties and to offer degrees in
Journalism and other social communications media. These
institutions would be able to teach “subjects corresponding
to Journalism, Cinematography, Television, Broadcasting and
Advertising”, grouping them into three sections or branches
— Journalism, Audiovisual Sciences and Advertising.
At a later date and on the basis of this new legislation,
the Complutense University of Madrid and the Autonomous
University of Barcelona requested and were granted
Information Science Faculties under the order of Spanish
minister of education (September 17, 1971). The Complutense
University of Madrid received authorization for the
branches of Journalism, Audiovisual Sciences and
Advertising, while the Autonomous University of Barcelona
was only initially authorized to teach the branch of
Journalism. This branch was expanded in 1972 by a new order
which allowed the inclusion of Advertising. Subsequently,
in 1974 the government provisionally approved the syllabus
for the degree in Advertising and Public Relations,
extending the former degree in Advertising.
One of the parameters for analyzing the research carried
out in Spain was to review all doctoral dissertations on
public relations that have been written at public and
private universities within the criteria laid down by the
regulatory guidelines on doctoral degrees, described as the
initiation of specialized research in a specific
scientific, technical or artistic field. That is, such
theses should be the first step in academic research that
contributes to theory development in public relations.
2. Methodology
2.1. Data collection
All of the doctoral dissertations on public relations
submitted at public and private universities in Spain from
1965 (date of the first thesis presented in the field) to
2004 (inclusive) were selected and analyzed. All theses
containing the term public relations in both the title and the
abstract were included in this study. We also selected
those dissertations that make express reference to
historical, theoretical, structural, instrumental,
strategic, technical and tactical aspects of public
relations, even when the name public relations is not explicitly
used in the title.
The theses were consulted on two types of online database.
Firstly, we chose the TESEO database. Among other
functions, the Spanish Department of Education and Science
is responsible for compiling a file of doctoral
dissertations and publishing an annual record of those that
have been awarded a pass grade (Royal Decree 1504/2003 of
December 6). To this end, in 1976 the University
Coordination Board created the TESEO database
(http://www.mcu.es/TESEO/teseo.html) which collects and
allows the retrieval of information on doctoral
dissertations that have been read and awarded a pass grade
at Spanish universities since 1976.
In addition to the name of the relevant author and
examining board, the TESEO files contain a detailed summary
of the thesis content and the fundamental concepts it
addresses. This was used to consult all university library
databases in order to locate all theses that received a
pass mark before 1976.
2.2. Content analysis
The first stage of the analysis was to draw up a list of
topics and categories in order to classify each of the
theses studied. Doctoral research must contribute to theory
development in the field in question and therefore has a
theoretical edge over Masters theses undertaken by
professionals studying to become public relations managers
(Heath & Coombs, 2006, p. 434). In 1999, the Commission on
Public Relations Education reported: “A doctoral degree in
public relations is a theory and research degree” (p. 26).
The same Commission also states that doctoral degrees will
ideally prepare the student to develop and contribute to
the body of knowledge through research and develop the
ability to disseminate that information to the academic and
practitioner communities through conferences and
professional publications, and to develop paradigms of
public relations based on metatheoretical and philosophical
foundations in response to the maturation of the field (p.
30). This statement suggests that doctoral dissertations
should be a first indicator of the status of the body of
knowledge concerning public relations, as well as forming a
basis for future articles in public relations academic
journals.
Underpinned by this theory building dimension of doctoral
research, a coding sheet consisting of three categorical
and 38 sub-categorical variables was drawn up based on the
work of Sallot et al. (2003) which uses content analysis to
categorize the public relations body of knowledge, at the
same time based on Ferguson’s (1984) research about the
status of theory building by public relations scholars.
This study has been used in other major content analysis
research of public relations body of knowledge (e.g.
Molleda & Laskin, 2005).
According to the categorization of Sallot et al. (2003), the
three categorical variables were: dissertations that were
introspective, dissertations that involved practice or
application of public relations, and dissertations related
to theory development in public relations.1
A complete list of the dissertations sorted by category and sub-category isavailable upon request.
Having codified the theses and removed the sub-categorical
variables that were not filled in, the introspective
dissertation type included the following sub-categories:
pedagogy/education, ethics and social responsibility,
history, the profession, and international practice. The
type of dissertation described as practice or application
contained the following sub-categories:
management/decision-making/problem-solving, implementing
programs and campaigns, organizational communication,
social issues and issue management, new communication
technology, legal issues, crisis response/communication,
and image/reputation/impression management. Finally, theory
development dissertations were also classified into various
sub-groups: excellence theory/symmetrical
communication/Grunig’s models, and fundraising.
Other units of analysis were the title, the abstract (in
those theses included in the TESEO database) and the table
of contents. The names of all thesis authors, the
universities where they were written and the year of
submission were recorded.
All dissertations were coded by two independent coders to
determine intercoder reliability. Intercoder agreement was
95.16% (59 dissertations) for the dissertation topic. This
process resulted in a Scott’s Pi of .894, the reliability
coefficient that takes chance agreement into account
(Scott, 1955). This falls within the acceptable range
of .75 or above (Wimmer & Dominick, 2000). A reliability
check for the other variables was unnecessary because the
coding required only careful transcription of each
dissertation. In two dissertations coders were divided
across class categorizations; in the other, they agreed on
class but disagreed on subcategories.
3. Findings and discussion
The data gathered during this research was used to perform
a systematic bibliometric analysis from which it is
possible to extract initial quantitative findings on the
periods in which most theses were written, the most
productive universities, the language used in the theses
and the authors’ gender.
This study reveals that the period when most research was
submitted was 1995 to 2004, with 59.68% (n=37) of the total
number of theses. This indicates the considerable increase
in research into public relations and organizational
communication over recent years, in proportion with the
increase in the number of universities offering degrees in
Advertising and Public Relations. The period with the
second highest number of theses is 1985 to 1994, with
32.26% (n=20) of the total. During this period the Spanish
government reformed the structure of Communications
Studies, creating three independent degree subjects:
Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations, and Visual
Communication. This represented the formal specialization
of these degree subjects, leading to greater specialization
in doctoral research in the communication disciplines. It
also explains why, in contrast, the period 1965-1974
accounts for 3.22% (n=2) of theses read and 1975-1984 for
4.84% (n=3) of theses.
The rapid rise in the number of Advertising and Public
Relations courses offered by various universities, which
went from 19 in 2000 (Tilson & Pérez, 2003) to 32 in 2004
(Huertas & Calvia, 2006), is a further indicator of
graduates’ rising interest in undertaking doctoral
dissertations in public relations. This statistic is
corroborated by the 33 doctoral dissertations currently
being researched at differing universities to be defended
between 2006 and 2008, according to information provided by
Spanish universities at the III Interuniversity Forum of Public
Relations Lecturers (April 2005). Nevertheless, the lack of
specific PhD programs in the field of public relations – as
has been mentioned, a doctorate in Public Relations can at
present only be studied at the University of Malaga -
continues to be a factor that limits students’ interest and
motivation, especially when compared with the field of
journalism, where over 500 theses were completed between
1954 and 1996 in the region of Catalonia alone (Jones &
Baró, 1997).
This data suggests that Spain is comparable to other
countries in this regard. Although the rise seen in recent
years and the outlook are positive in the professional
(Tilson & Pérez, 2003) and academic fields, to our minds
Botan and Hazleton (2006) are right to bemoan the fact that
the lack of doctoral degrees specializing in Public
Relations affects the theory development of this subject.
As a result, it is also true to say that in Spain this
shortage of qualified PhD programs leads to “spotty
development in public relations teaching, theory, and
research” (Botan & Hazleton, 2006, p. 3).
Complutense University of Madrid is by far the most
predominant location for the submission of theses with 50%
of the doctoral dissertations (n=31) coming from this
university. Lagging some way behind is the Autonomous
University of Barcelona, making up 14.52% (n=9) of the
dissertations written, followed by the University of
Navarre (8.06%; n=5). These three universities were the
first to offer Communications Studies in Spain and the
number of theses written is therefore coherent with the
length of time these degrees have been available. The
proportion between the number of lecturers, students and
doctoral theses submitted is clearly observed in the case
of Madrid and Barcelona. Complutense University of Madrid
and Autonomous University of Barcelona are the universities
with the highest number of teaching staff and students in
communications.
The fourth position is occupied by the University of Malaga
which first offered a degree in Advertising and Public
Relations in 1992 and where 6.45% (n=4) of dissertations
were written. It should be pointed out here that this
university is the only one to offer a specific doctoral
program in Public Relations. Furthermore, these findings
suggest unequal development of doctoral research across
geographical areas, similar to industry development (Tilson
& Pérez, 2003; Huertas & Cavia, 2006).
Spain is characterized by being a multilingual nation. It
has four languages: Castilian, Catalan, Galician and
Basque. Castilian has always been the official language
throughout Spain but at the end of Franco’s dictatorship,
during which Castilian was obligatory in the academic
domain, a new Constitution was passed which also gave
Catalan, Galician and Basque official status in the
Autonomous Communities of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque
Country respectively. Although the university community is
highly sensitive to linguistic and cultural diversity, this
has not been reflected in the language used for theses as
of 1978 when the Constitution came into force. Despite a
slight increase in the number of theses written in the
regional official languages, the results suggest that
Franco’s linguistic protectionism still has considerable
sway: 90.32 % (n=56) of theses were written in Castilian,
6.45% (n=4) in Catalan, and 1.61% (n=1) in both Galician
and Basque.
The study reveals that PhD programs in Spain are dominated
by men, who account for 59.68% (n=37) of theses written
compared to 40.32% (n=25) of women. However, if we look at
the last decade (1995-2004) it transpires that the reverse
is true: 56.76% (n=21) of theses were written by women and
43.24% (n=16) by men. This change coincides with a
progressive increase of women taking social science degrees
since the 1980s, particularly in Communication Sciences.
The data also suggest that the gradual feminization of PhD
courses is a trend that corresponds to the same trend in
the professional field as, by 2004, 66.8% of staff in
Spanish PR companies were women (ADECEC, 2005).
With regard to the content analysis for the topic
categorization of the theses, the vast majority dealt with
issues relating to the practice and application of public
relations (69.35%; n=43), far outweighing those codified as
introspective (22.6%; n=14) and even more so the theory
building dissertations (3.22 %; n=2). There is therefore a
clear preference for theses on applied public relations and
an apparent lack of interest among Spanish PhD students in
the theory development of public relations (see Table 1).
Table 1. Doctoral dissertations sorted by classes and subcategories
CATEGORIES Number of PhDdissertations
Percentageof PhD
dissertations
INTROSPECTIVE Pedagogy / Education in Public Relations 2 3.23Ethics and Social Responsibility 2 3.23The History of Public Relations 2 3.23The Profession of Public Relations 6 9.68International PR Practice 2 3.23Total 14 22.6
PRACTICE / APPLICATION OF PUBLIC RELATIONSManagement in PR/Decision-Making/Problem-Solving
5 8.06
Implementing Programs and Campaigns 15 24.19Organizational Communication 7 11.29Social Issues and Issues Management in PR 2 3.23New Communication Technologies 5 8.06Legal Issues 1 1.61Crisis Response/Communication 2 3.23
Image/Reputation/Impression Management 6 9.68Total 43 69.35
THEORY DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC RELATIONSTheory/Symmetrical Communication/Grunig’sModels
1 1.61
Fundraising 1 1.61Total 2 3.22
NOT CATEGORIZED (coder disagreements) 3 4.84
TOTAL 62 100.01a
a Rounding error
A more detailed analysis of titles and abstracts of titles
and abstracts of theses included in Practice / Application of Public
Relations demonstrates the considerable number of
dissertations on the role of public relations in public
institutions – 80% (4/5) in the Management in PR/Decision
Making/Problem Solving sub-category, and 40% (6/15) in
Implementing Programs and Campaigns. This information is
evidence of the interest raised among researchers by public
organizations’ adaptation to the new democratic system
brought about by the end of Franco’s dictatorship. Indeed,
as Tilson and Pérez (2003) demonstrated, the impressive
transition towards democracy, firstly, and the country’s
subsequent economic and social growth paved the way for the
appearance of new models of communications management,
which the government took on quickly and effectively. In
this context, it is no surprise that the main area of
applied research was that of public relations in the public
sector (20.97% of all dissertations; n=13).2
2 Twelve were written between 1985 and 2004.
Indeed, the influence of the political/administrative
context can be clearly seen in the first theses to be
submitted. The very first, entitled “Public Relations in
Administration” (1965) was written in a country with an
administration that had yet to be fully formed and which
was greatly influenced in ideological terms by the Franco
regime. The second, focusing on the business arena and
entitled “Public Relations in Private US Companies” (1966),
was fruit of the interest held in this emerging subject
matter in the country. The scarcity of public relations in
Spanish companies, which was a direct consequence of the
lack of an adequate body of knowledge, meant that the
American model was used in the first doctoral research on
public relations as the management function of companies.
These two doctoral theses were presented at the Faculty of
Political, Economic and Commercial Sciences at the old
University of Madrid, in an age when communications studies
did not exist in Spanish universities.
The new democratic panorama in Spain has also had an impact
on the recent surge in research into the role of public
relations in political communication (5 dissertations; 4 of
which are sub-categorized as Implementing Programs and
Campaigns). The peculiar political system of a state made
up of autonomous communities (similar to federalism)
entailed structuring the various public administrations on
multiple levels, with political leaders being voted into
office by means of electoral processes: government,
autonomous communities and town councils. Thus, scope for
the application of public relations and, especially, press
relations has broadened considerably. As Barranco (2003)
pointed out, in Spain, the communication departments of the
political parties have an essential responsibility:
relations with the mass media.
From this standpoint, the data also suggest the importance
of media relations in doctoral research. Of the 15 theses
sub-categorized as Implementing Programs and Campaigns, 8 refer
directly or indirectly to media relations. The same results
can be seen in the sub-category The Profession of Public Relations
in the Introspective category, where of the 6 theses codified
as such, 4 refer to media relations. Of the 5 theses
classed as New Communication Technologies, 3 deal with online
media relations. In other words, of all the theses analyzed
in this study, almost a quarter (24.19%; n=15) concern
media relations.
Thus, these outcomes provide evidence of the existing
confusion in Spain with regard to the distinction between
public relations and media relations, a vision which is all
too common worldwide. According to the ADECEC report
(2005), 100% of PR companies working in Spain believe media
relations to be one of their key functions, a result that
is not echoed in other programs such as internal
communications (50%), governmental relations (46.7%),
investor relations (40%), or fundraising (6.7%). Zoch and
Molleda (2006) pointed out that media (or press) relations
is an area of public relations “that many nonpractitioners
see as the only function of public relations” (p. 279). In
this case Spain is no different, according to the numerous
doctoral research studies addressing press campaigns, media
relations tactics and the structure of media relations
firms. This has been further influenced by the evolution of
Spanish politics and the appearance of liberties that were
restricted under the Franco regime. The most significant of
these were citizens’ freedom of expression and the right to
information. In this new democratic panorama the press
became free, providing public relations with its greatest
professional outlet, a development which would also be of
interest to future PhD students at Spanish universities.
Another of the reasons for interest in media relations lies
in the fact that it allows for a dual approach from both a
journalistic and a public relations angle. This corresponds
with the coexistence of Journalism and Public Relations
degrees in most Information Sciences faculties, on which
45% of the compulsory modules are the same.
Regarding the lack of theory building research in public
relations, further reason for the scarcity of research
compared to that carried out in other fields is the
instrumental perception that many academics still have of
the discipline. The analysis of the theses that come under
the Practice / Application of Public Relations category is highly
revealing: 15 of the 43 doctoral dissertations classed in
this group deal with public relations through a prior
analysis of marketing strategy, of which 10 have to do with
setting up programs/campaigns and 5 come under the
remaining sub-categories. The same occurs with 2 of the 6
theses in the sub-category The Profession of Public Relations and
with one of the uncategorized theses.
Furthermore, the data above suggest that this lack of
theoretical approach to public relations is related with
the arguments used by authors in other countries. Indeed,
as Botan and Taylor (2004) argued, “Because public
relations scholarship has not been made widely available to
communication/mass communication scholars, public relations
is often understood only as a technical area… Therefore,
public relations faculty are screened for technical skills
but are often not expected to be researchers and
theorists.” (p. 646).
Despite this instrumental approach to public relations,
none of the theses were placed in the Integrated Marketing
Communications sub-category. This is evidence of both an
approach to public relations as a marketing tool and of
unfamiliarity with the integrated marketing communications
phenomenon as an all-inclusive and non-absorbing approach.
Another indicator of this technical perception and of Botan
and Taylor’s statement (2004) being applicable to Spain is
that of the 62 theses analyzed, less than a third (32.26%)
use the term “public relations” in the title. This aspect
has had its effect on the dearth of public relations theory
and its approach from a structural perspective, as the lack
of academic and verbal recognition for this discipline has meant
infrequent description of its academic and scientific
domain (Hutton, 1999).
As suggested above, this has a significant effect on theory
building in doctoral dissertations on public relations. Of
all of the theses examined, only 10 (16.13%) contextualize
research with the evolution of public relations theory, of
which no more than 2 attempt to conceptualize and
reconceptualize public relations and to assess the
usefulness of a particular theory. None develops a new
perspective that helps explain, understand, or predict the
practice of public relations. It is therefore hardly
surprising that despite the predominance of applied PR in
doctoral research, this is not reflected in the profession,
since in 2004, only 5.3% of employees in Spanish public
relations companies and departments had a postgraduate
qualification (ADECEC, 2005). This would seem to confirm
the scant interest in research among the profession, in
addition to a disjunction between the industry and the
academic world which is not at all conducive to the
development of new theory building approaches related to
practice.
This lack of contributions to theory development in public
relations can also be seen in the absence of theses in some
of the sub-categories that Sallot et al. (2003) included in
the category Theory Development in Public Relations. Concretely, no
doctoral research has been undertaken in Spain on such
important issues for theory building in public relation as
role theory and models, rhetorical approach to public
relations, situational theory, ethics and social
responsibility, public relationships, contingency theory,
or social issues and issues management, among others.
Conclusion
This article shows the significant rise of doctoral
dissertations on public relations in Spanish universities
in recent years. Such a change cannot be disassociated from
the effects of Franco’s dictatorship before 1975 and the
transition to democracy which began that year.
However, this growth has not contributed to theory
development in public relations, which is often still seen
as a set of tools to be used in other fields of
communications and management. Evidence of this can be
found in the categorization of the theses based on a
content analysis of their titles, abstracts, and table of
contents. Among dissertations analyzed in this article,
theory development is least current. Introspective
dissertations are present to some extent, mostly focusing
on the issue of profession. Practice and application
dissertations are rather well developed with a dominant
focus on implementing specific programs and campaigns and a
predominantly technical approach to public relations.
Although degree courses in Public Relations are offered by
32 Spanish universities, only one offers a doctoral program
in this field. In their study of the implementation of
public relations in Spain, Huertas and Cavia (2006)
concluded that “Universities must help their Advertising
and Public Relations graduates to obtain the position they
deserve in the labor market”. This study broadens the scope
of this statement: universities must also help to train
future scholars who will contribute to developing concepts
and theories in public relations. Until this is the case,
the general void in public relations theory development
will continue: “some ‘professors’ of public relations with
zero academics training in the subject area” (Botan &
Hazleton, 2006, p. 3). Whilst the considerable number of
Spanish universities offering Public Relations degrees is a
good “port of entry”, once inside these expectations soon
begin to fade away.
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